


A New Fire

by disgaeaguy3



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Breath of the Wild Spoilers, F/M, Family, Family Dynamics, Family Issues, One-Shot, The Flight Range, a bit of hurt/comfort, a bit of introspection, hard conversations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-24 06:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19718491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disgaeaguy3/pseuds/disgaeaguy3
Summary: Teba is a warrior and Saki is a worrier. There were always going to be difficulties between them, but they worked well together. They were happy. At least, that's what Teba believed.So why did Saki seem to think otherwise?





	A New Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I'm not sure where this one came from but I wrote it at about 3 am last night, did some editing on it today, and decided to go ahead and post it. This work contains some very minor spoilers for Rito Village in breath of the wild, but only really in the context of it mentions some things you find out on arrival. Still, if you haven't played that section of the game yet and want to avoid knowing anything then I'd avoid this.
> 
> Otherwise, Hope you enjoy!

_‘This is peaceful’_

The sun had set over the flight range and the frosty touch of the evening winds swept through the canyon walls to ruffle through white feathers. Teba shifted slightly at the sudden chill as he stared into the flickering flame and allowed the nearly permanent tension in his shoulders to bleed away a bit. Not entirely, because Teba wasn’t the type of person to truly relax outside the familiar confines of Rito Village, but enough for him to avoid scanning the edges of the flight range for threats for a moment. Golden eyes flickered in the firelight as they darted down to the figure huddled against his side.

The corners of his beak curled upwards as his slumbering son’s beak stretched in a wide yawn before he shuffled a bit closer and stilled again in his sleep. Teba wasn’t particularly surprised the boy was worn out. In the weeks since Vah Medoh had been released, Tulin had religiously insisted upon trips to the flight range to play, to make up for lost time he’d said. The older Rito hadn’t had the heart to refuse him and so they’d begun spending more and more time at the range. They’d leave early and return only when the sun set or the fledglings boundless energy began to fail him, usually the latter, but Teba didn’t mind.

He was proud.

Ever since Link had stopped by and showed the fledgling his skills, Tulin had taken to insisting he would be able to match the hero’s display and his tiny practice bow had seen more use than it had since Teba had first presented it to him. While Teba certainly hadn’t hidden his desire to train his son, and Tulin hadn’t concealed his desire to ‘train’, the fledgling’s ‘playing’ had previously trended more towards watching his father at work than actually practicing with the bow himself. Now though, he worked as hard as his tiny wings would allow to adjust to his training bow and Teba felt his heart glow with fatherly pride at the improvements he’d already made.

Even if he still couldn’t quite hit the target consistently unaided, but Teba had expected as much.

A soft hum echoed from across the fire and Teba allowed his eyes to shift from his napping son to the woman seated there. Saki hadn’t come with them for the first few trips, but had begun to accompany them after the first few evenings where Tulin’s boundless energy and enthusiasm for the craft kept her boy’s out a bit later than normal. She’d bring food to prepare and soft spoken encouragement for when their son grew upset, but otherwise seemed content to watch. Teba knew his wife still didn’t condone his desire to train Tulin, but neither of them had seen fit to bring up the subject since the situation with Medoh had been resolved.

Teba knew they’d discuss it again, but for now things were peaceful. They were all safe to enjoy evenings like this one….

_But were they really?_

The white Rito allowed his eyes to drift away from his wife in a quick scan of their surroundings. No figures materialized from the evening gloom, there were no foreign shapes inching towards the ladder, and no shadows crossed the ground to imply an aerial assault. Satisfied at the lack of immediate danger, he turned his head to take stock of the potential exits should they need to make a quick escape. The open nature of Rito architecture left several options if they-

“You’re doing it again.”

Teba’s thoughts trailed off as he glanced back at his wife across the fire.

“Doing what?”

He questioned softly, keeping his voice low so as not to wake his sleeping son. His wife’s beak twisted into a faint smile, but her eyes shone with a hint of regret that shot through the warrior like a finely placed arrow to the chest.

“Scanning. Waiting for something.”

Saki clarified lightly as her gaze dipped back towards the dimming fire between them. Teba tilted his head slightly as his brow furrowed in confusion, but he answered her anyway.

“The Flight Range is usually safe, but it’s not actually in the village.”

The steady undertone of ‘it’s not safe’ behind his words made the shadows seem a bit larger and Teba found himself wrapping a wing around his sleeping son to tuck him closer. His eyes dipped away from his Saki’s pensive expression in another quick scan of their surroundings as his wife drifted away in thought. Teba didn’t quite understand why she’d seen fit to mention it if he were being honest, but he knew well enough that Saki would tell him eventually. His wife had always been a worrier and had no qualms about sharing her concerns with her family and friends. Still, as the moments passed, Teba began to grow more concerned about the late hour and opened his beak to suggest they head back.

“You do it in the village too.”

The warrior’s golden eyes drifted back to his wife as his beak clicked shut in surprise. He scanned the village? His brow furrowed slightly as he tried to remember the last time he’d scanned the village like he had the Flight Range but couldn’t quite recall. He knew he’d done so after Medoh had begun it’s reign of terror, but that was perfectly justified. They’d all been living on borrowed time and Teba doubted he’d been the only one looking for threats. Teba thought back for a moment longer before lifting his head and meeting Saki’s eyes across the fire in askance. 

“Looking for problems, trying to find something wrong.”

The pink Rito replied with another smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes and the slightest shrug of her shoulders. The pale blue of her gaze fell back to the fire as she poked the wood with a stick to coax out a few more embers from the dying flame. Teba merely looked on in confusion, still at a loss for what his wife was trying to say. The warrior had a duty to protect the village and part of that required a certain degree of vigilance, but he didn’t believe he went looking for trouble. He planned to say as much, but Saki continued unprompted.

“Do you know why I started coming? After that first day?”

Teba tilted his head slightly, recalling the way Saki had swept in that first evening when Teba had kept Tulin at the range far later than he rightfully should have. Her lovely plumage had been in a ruffled state and there had been a hard glint in her eye that Teba knew precluded an unpleasant conversation and perhaps a night spent in the Flight Range rather than the Village. But Tulin had rushed over in all his boundless enthusiasm to insist she see how much he’d improved and so his wife had remained to observe the rest of the lesson. When they’d returned that night and put Tulin to bed, he’d expected his wife to have words for him but she hadn’t said a thing. 

He’d thought that Tulin’s excitement may have managed to curb her worry and irritation, but then why bring it up?

“I thought it was for Tulin.”

The warrior finally offered when it became clear that Saki was waiting for his answer. He couldn’t think of a better reason if he were being honest. His wife was a consummate civilian. The few trips she made to the flight range had always been somehow related to the rest of the family rather than her own interest. While Teba had made it a point to outfit her with passable archery skills for his own peace of mind, she had no taste for violence or combat and would much rather remain safely ensconced within the confines of the village. He had never begrudged her that and some part of him felt better knowing that Saki would stay well out of harm's way. The point of contention between them had always been Tulin, and for a brief moment Teba considered if this was merely a prelude to another of the arguments they’d shared about their son’s training.

But the shake of his wife’s head shot that idea out of the sky.

“I did at first.”

Saki began, with a barely present chuckle.

“I came down that first day ready to give you a piece of my mind really. You’d both missed dinner and nearly gave me a heart attack. I’d almost gone to the guards to see if they could look for you, but decided to check the range first.”

The Rito woman offered as she poked at a piece of charcoal in the dying flame. Teba’s eyes remained locked solidly on her face for a moment before he spoke.

“I’m sorry we worried you.”

He replied softly with a bow of his head. In truth, Teba hadn’t intended to keep Tulin out that late at all, but he had been distracted with the training and his son’s boundless enthusiasm to the point that the hour had simply slipped away from him. It wasn’t an excuse. He knew that Saki worried and he should have known better. Still, the soft hum of acceptance Saki offered told him that she hadn’t finished speaking. His wife continued poking lightly at the embers, but Teba took the silence for consideration and waited patiently for her to continue.

“I stayed because of you.”

Teba blinked once and felt his brow furrowing again, but Saki continued on before he could truly consider.

“I was so mad at you. I told myself, ‘Saki you let it go on too long. All those days ‘playing’ at the flight range. Tulin’s too young for such things. Now he’s keeping him out at all hours of the night.’”

The woman listed with another of those barely present little laughs. He knew it was because she’d made those same arguments before, but Teba kept his beak firmly shut rather than respond as he wished to. She’d already said it wasn’t about Tulin so…

“But when I got here… Tulin was so excited and he wanted to show me his bow. He kept going on and on about how his dad had shown him how to stand and how he’d almost gotten a bullseye earlier. I didn’t have the heart to force him to come home, so I stayed to keep an eye on things, but I was still upset.”

Saki continued with the faint ghost of a smile on her face as she lifted her gaze to meet his. It was a faint thing, no more than the slightest upturn at the corners of her beak, but there was something genuine in her eyes that told him she’d been truly happy...

“But then I just watched you two and I realized something. While you were training Tulin, you were happy. Relaxed in a way I hadn’t seen for a long time.”

Teba blinked slowly and felt a certain awkward sense of disappointment at his wife’s words. Of course he had been happy. The threat of Vah Medoh had been cleansed, and the village was safe again. Why wouldn’t he have been excited to spend time with his son? And relaxed? Teba found himself shifting a bit uncomfortably as he considered that maybe he wasn’t quite as calm in the village as he’d originally thought. Still, he didn’t think a certain hint of tension was unjustified, even at home. The warriors were few in number and that meant he needed to be ready at all times, just in case. That didn’t mean he wasn’t happy… but Saki seemed to have a different opinion.

“Did you think I didn’t want to spend time with him?”

The ‘with you’ remained unspoken between them, but Teba knew that Saki understood from the way her eyes dipped back down to the fire. The Rito warrior felt a sharp twist in his chest and swallowed as he allowed his gaze to drop to the fledgling fast asleep at his side. Did Saki honestly believe that he didn’t want to spend time with them? She couldn’t possibly think he had been avoiding them. Yes, he’d had to devote time and energy to patrols with the warriors for years. And of course when Medoh took to it’s corrupt ways he focused entirely upon the threat, but that was different. He loved his family and a faint bubble of shame welled up inside of him at the notion that he clearly hadn’t shown his wife as much.

“I know the man I married.”

Saki’s voice was soft in the evening air, gentle and somehow fragile as she spoke. If Teba weren’t still lost in thought, the tone alone would have held him to his silence.

“I knew who you were when we were courting. I knew who you were when you asked me to marry you. I knew who you were when Tulin hatched.”

His wife offered in that same soft tone that tugged on the Rito warriors heart like a fishhook set to rip the muscle right out of his chest. Was he shaking? No that was Tulin. For a moment, Teba’s eyes darted back down to his son and he tucked his wing a bit tighter around the fledgling to buffer against the chilly Tabantha winds as he tried to process what his wife was saying.

“And I still know who you are Teba.”

The White Rito’s eyes snapped back up to his wife as the tug in his chest lessened, a certain sense of hope he didn’t quite understand taking over as it blended with his confusion. Saki’s eyes had drifted back to their son, tucked so carefully beneath his father’s wing, but her words remained in that delicately fragile tone.

“When you’re at home…”

She began before her beak twisted slightly as though the words tasted wrong on her tongue and tried again.

“When you’re in the village, you’re tense like you’re waiting for something. The next problem, an attack, a summons…”

Saki trailed off as her gaze finally met his, a mix of sadness and understanding bleeding so openly in her eyes that it brought the twist in his chest back to full force.

“You’re waiting for that next moment when everything’s going to come crashing down. It’s who you are. It’s who you’ve always been. You’re a warrior at heart. A problem solver. When something goes wrong, you just can’t stay still. You have to work. You have to fix it. But even after the problems gone… you go back to looking for another.”

Teba cracked open his beak but couldn’t quite find the words. How could he? He’d never realized that it made him seem distant. It simply wasn’t in Teba’s nature to be idle, but he didn’t think he went looking for trouble. He merely remained vigilant. He expected problems to occur and that was one of the reasons he found Kaneli’s casual demeanor so disturbing. Kaneli didn’t think about the worst thing that could happen when, say, a stranger wandered into the village asking about the warriors. Teba did. It allowed him to plan, prepare, and prioritize. 

It allowed him to act.

“It wasn’t until I saw you here with Tulin that I really realized something. Rito Village… it isn’t really your home is it?”

Saki finished with that phantom of a smile and that vulnerable tone that said she knew the answer without Teba saying a word. For a brief moment, the only sounds were the bitter howls of the night wind brushing away the ashy remnants of their faded fire. Saki had clearly finished speaking and…

Teba didn’t know what to say.

Rito Village was… his life. He had hatched there. He had grown up there. His wife and child lived there. He had promised to protect it when he was inducted into the ranks of Rito Warriors. It should have been the one place where he was perfectly content. The one place where he was relaxed and happy; but, now that he thought about it, Teba knew it wasn’t. How many times had he fled the village in his youth when his parents had upset him? How many nights had he left in the wake of an argument with his wife? Rito village was a close knit community. He had no doubt that he could have remained. Harth would have a hammock for him. Amali would appreciate the help with her girls. The meddling elder would have advice. All of them would have welcomed him and tried to help, but he had never considered going to them.

He’d always come to the Flight Range.

It had always been there that he found it easier to steady himself. Solutions for his problems and worries came more easily here among the winds and the whisper of arrows shooting through the air. He swallowed dryly as he considered whether he’d have bothered scanning his surroundings if Saki and Tulin hadn’t been present and had to admit the truth. In the solitude of the Flight Range he felt safe. Steady.

It was a far cry from the focused state of awareness he perpetuated in the village itself.

The warrior lifted his gaze from where it had drifted off to the side and knew what he should say. He should tell his wife that he loved her and that their life in the village was the most important thing in Hyrule to him. He should tell her that she had the wrong idea. He should tell her that he would change. He should tell her that Rito Village had always been his home.

But Teba was not a liar.

He loved his wife dearly. He loved his son dearly. But somehow his wife had seen something he himself had missed and now his stomach twisted with the uncomfortable realization that perhaps Teba would not give everything for them. Oh he would lay down his life for either one of them in an instant. He would never allow them to come to harm while he drew breath and, if anything happened to either one of them, he would hunt down those responsible without a second thought or moments regret. But if it came to a choice… If he were forced to chose to protect Saki or to protect the village, then he didn’t know which he would choose.

Family or Duty.

Family or Pride.

Rito Village, where his wife's wings and his son’s smile waited, or the Flight Range with its distance and clarity.

The fact that he didn’t immediately jump to the idea that of course he would save his wife brought the taste of bile to his tongue. His golden eyes fluttered to the floor as shame burned through his body like a shot of one of the Gerudo’s drinks. To choose between his wife and his child or the village? Why would it even take a moment’s thought and what was wrong with him that he considered it in the first place?! 

_‘The same thing that’s always been wrong…’_

Teba thought the worst of things. When Medoh first arrived he’d gone to scout it’s armaments and considered how much damage they could do. A missed shot grazing a rock was all it took for him to begin to wonder how many shots it would take to bring the rock Rito Village had been built around tumbling down. There were evacuation plans of course, but all of them involved flight and civilians taking to the air with Medoh still flying... It would be a massacre plain and simple.

He hadn’t told anyone that he was going and, after he’d seen what he needed to see, he’d gone to the Flight Range. From there he’d thought, he’d planned, he’d gone and yelled at the elder that history wasn’t as important as the present, and then gone to battle Medoh. The simple fact that he couldn’t remember seeing Saki between his worries told him that he hadn’t thought to find his wife. He hadn’t thought to tell her he was alright, that he loved her, and that he was doing this to keep his family safe.

Then Harth had been shot down and Teba had narrowly managed to catch him and drag him back to the Village. To most it was the best case, Harth had survived after all, but for Teba it had only been a reminder that they were all living on borrowed time. The good will of Medoh wasn’t something the warrior was willing to count on and so he’d left again. He’d gone to the Flight Range and again, he couldn’t recall if he’d told Saki much of anything. He’d been too wrapped up in his thoughts, plans, and the threat of Medoh to think of his worried wife. 

An estimated five shots to bring down the pillar. Dozens of flying civilian targets trying to escape beneath Medoh’s shadow, and Teba unable to catch them all. It would have been the end of the village. It would be the end of the Rito. It was a dark train of thought and he knew full well that most hadn’t even considered it. But Teba thought the worst of things.

He could only hope that his tendency to do so was why he had this awful feeling that his wife was about to leave him…

“... It’s late. We should get Tulin back to the village.”

Saki’s voice broke through Teba’s thoughts, but he still couldn’t bring himself to look up at the woman he’d married as she stood. She doused the scattered remnants of their fire and gently pried Tulin from Teba’s suddenly numb wing. The warrior could feel his wife's gaze on him, but couldn’t bring himself to lift his head as she began securing their sleeping son to her back.

Just like with Medoh, Teba wasn’t sure what he would do if the worst case he could so easily picture occurred.

How could he allow Saki to believe that she and Tulin weren’t his home? How could he have been so blind? Teba was the one who planned for the worst case. He expected it. He thought it through, prioritized and that allowed him to act, but he’d never thought that he’d somehow hurt his family in the process…

_‘But that’s not entirely true is it?’_

Teba allowed his eyes to drift closed and tried to focus on steadying his shaky breathing as his thoughts ran wild. The warrior did not idle well. Even in his youth he had always been doing something, and the idea of remaining still or allowing his abilities to stagnate had always sat poorly with him. Being a warrior had been his dream since he was a child and Teba was proud of his accomplishments. It didn’t help that their world was dangerous. It was rife with monsters and violence and someone had to stand between it and those who couldn’t defend themselves. but it was not without a cost.

Long hours spent between raids on monster camps, patrols, and training. The constant lingering threat of battle that carried with it the morbid undertone that perhaps he may not return. The heavy burden of having people look at you with such naked trust that any threat would meet its end beneath your swift wings. The time you could have spent with your wife and your son that you instead paid to ensure you could keep them safe. Looking back, Teba could see how that distance could grow and a wound could fester, but he’d brushed it off. His wife was a worrier he’d said, never quite giving the source of those worries the consideration they deserved. He’d always been a warrior first and a husband second and Saki...

Saki had said she knew the man she married.

Teba was beginning to think that he hadn’t gotten to know the woman he loved.

“... It’s alright Teba.”

Saki’s voice cut through his thoughts from where she stood on the landing, Tulin still snoozing quietly on her back. This time the warrior forced his eyes from the ground and met her gentle gaze once more. The soft understanding on her face had unshed tears pooling in his golden eyes as his stomach twisted in uncomfortable knots and he tried to find his voice, but what could he possibly say?

How could he tell her all that he needed to before he lost everything?

“... You know that I love you.”

Teba whispered, not realizing that his tone had taken on that soft fragile quality that had so quickly shattered his heart when he heard it from his wife's beak. Saki gave a soft smile and nodded.

“I know.”

Teba gave a slightly shaky nod, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath to steady himself. The tear he hadn’t quite shed during the exchange finally trailed a damp line down his beak and fell down into the pile of ashes that had once been their fire. He took a moment… then another… until he simply had to admit that he didn’t want to open his eyes. He didn’t want to see if Saki would still be there when he did.

In the end, he didn’t have to.

“Mm… Dad? ‘M cold… can we go home now?”

Teba’s heart fluttered, but it still took a brief moment before he worked up the courage to open his eyes. The sight nearly brought him to tears once more as a wave of uncontained relief swept through him. Saki was still there, waiting by the landing with that gentle smile that said she understood. Tulin was still carefully secured to her back, but was looking at him through tired blue eyes. They were still there, standing quietly beneath the pale light of the rising moon and waiting for him to join them.

Waiting for him so they could go home.

“.. Yeah. We can go home now.”

The warrior offered as he dragged himself to his feet and walked towards the edge of the landing to join his wife and son. The fading ashes of the fire at the Flight Range were swept away in the winds and the biting chill of the Tabantha night ghosted through the empty building as the family took wing towards the village. 

They’d have to light a new fire when they got home.

**Author's Note:**

> Again, I'm not really sure where this one came from.
> 
> I normally don't prescribe to the idea that Saki and Teba have a strained relationship even though I can sort of see why people take it that way from what they actually say in game. To me Saki seems more like a natural worrier who is more or less exasperated, but accepting of Teba's faults while Teba strikes me as an intense person. He's one of those people who just can't turn his brain off and needs to be working on something or at least have an end goal in mind. He worries too. He just does it in a different way.
> 
> Still, I can see why people would jump on the idea that things aren't quite 'alright' between them.
> 
> Either way, I hope you enjoyed it and feel free to let me know what you think in the comments!


End file.
